


Who Needs Sleep When You Have Coffee?

by TheYaoiChick



Series: Tumblr Inspired [7]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Stress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 21:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20937242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheYaoiChick/pseuds/TheYaoiChick
Summary: It’s Exam time and Merlin hasn’t slept a whole night in weeks. He can not afford to lose this scholarship. Arthur is very concerned.





	Who Needs Sleep When You Have Coffee?

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt from this [Generator](https://colormayfade.tumblr.com/generator) \- I started doing things and forgot to sleep, you know, P R I O R I T I E S.

Arthur slowly opens the door to Merlin’s room, afraid that he may very well find a dead body in there. No one had seen or heard from him in days, and every time Arthur tried his cell it went directly to voice mail. His mail box is filled to the brim, and the plants that Merlin likes to take care of on his little window ciel bacony look like they’re dying.

  
When he walks in he sees books just _scattered_ everywhere. Some stacked together along the walls, others open on random pages along the floor and one or two opened on the table along with multitudes of notebooks with chicken scratch notes penned in. Coffee mugs on every table and counter, most half full and forgotten. Papers pinned to the wall and random pizza boxes on the floor, so hopefully that means Merlin is at least eating. Judging by the smell he hasn’t cleaned any, either the apartment or himself, it’s hard to tell until he actually finds him.  
He looks around the room and can’t see him so he starts to make his way towards Merlin’s bedroom when a “_Aha! Found it!_” sounded from behind the couch farther into the living room. Seeing as it was pressed so close to the wall Arthur hasn’t the slightest clue how he managed to fit back there.

  
“Merlin? What on Earth are you doing back there?” Arthur asked as he made his way over to his friend, being careful to avoid the books carelessly set on the edge that would likely fall with the slightest touch.

  
“Arthur? When did you get here? I don’t have time to hang out or anything I’m studying,” Merlin said as he popped his head over the arm of the couch to look at Arthur in confusion.

  
And Arthur had to hide the wince that came over him. Merlin’s hair was a mess, his face clearly unwashed from when he’d last ate and cloths rumpled. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, and if the stress lines on his forehead got any deeper they’d probably become permanent.

  
“You didn’t answer my question, what on Earth are you doing behind a couch? You’re liable to get your fat head stuck back there if you aren’t careful,” Arthur said.

  
“Oh ha ha. You’re hilarious. I was looking for my lucky pen, it fell and it helps me get motivated,” Merlin said holding up the ordinary foundation pen as if it were the Holy Grail.

  
Arthur’s concerns just got a tiny bit worse. If Merlin is describing things as _lucky_, something he always thought was ridiculous when he saw others do it, then he must be well and truly exhausted.

  
“I came to check on you, you’re stressing out the others since you went radio silent for a damn week. And apparently it’s a good thing I did since you evidently can’t take care of yourself. When was the last time you slept?” Arthur asked.

“Sleep? I can’t sleep! I’m too busy to sleep! If I wanna keep this scholarship I _have_ to do well on all these exams. I can’t afford to think for even one second that I know enough, that I know everything that’s bound to be on it because what if the professor decided to throw a trick question on it huh? Then what am I supposed to do? I’ll fail because I didn’t study something I didn’t think would be on the test and all this work would have been for nothing,” Merlin ranted.

  
“Merlin, you’re majoring in _medical_ how can you not know that with no sleep you’re literally not processing anything you read? So basically all that extra reading went down the toilet because you’ll most likely forget it all once you actually get some rest, which you would _have_ to do before your exams unless you want to risk sleeping through them,” Arthur said blinking in shock that he has to tell _Merlin_ of all people this.

  
It honestly baffled him that Merlin would remember that if it were someone else’s health on the line, that all that reading would kick in and he could recite from memory statistics on what a lack of sleep could do to your memory and work performance. But as soon as it’s his health, his work on the line, it’s as if all the knowledge just gets erased, like he’s wiping a computer hard drive.

  
“You don’t understand, I _need_ this scholarship,” Merlin said, as if stressing the word would impart some deeper meaning of it into Arthur’s brain and make him leave Merlin alone to fry himself out.

  
“I know you do. That’s why, after you get some sleep and get a damn _bath_ because that is _foul_, I’ll help you study to your hearts content,” Arthur said as he walked over to grab at Merlin’s arms to force him up and marched him towards his bedroom.

  
“But--”

  
“I will _tie_ you to that bed if I have to Merlin,” Arthur threatened.

  
“That’s kinky. Are you trying to _put_ me to bed or _take_ me to bed?” Merlin asked with a smirk.

  
“Ask again when you don’t smell like a garbage truck. Now, sleep!” Arthur said shoving him down onto the bed.

  
“If I fail I’m killing you,” Merlin yawned, eyes already starting to feel heavy.

  
“Yeah yeah. _If_ you fail, which you won’t because despite my teasing you aren’t actually stupid, I’ll take full responsibility,” Arthur said as he tossed his blanket over him and finished, “Now get some damn sleep. We’ve got work to do when you get up. By time I’m done with you, you’ll know that whole textbook inside out and backwards. And _when_ you pass, I’m taking you out to dinner to shove it in your face that I was right.”

Merlin of course didn’t hear a word. He had already dropped off into dream land.

**Author's Note:**

> Bookmarks, Comments and Kudos make me smile and inspire me to write~💙


End file.
